Still, one story from VentureBeat jumped out at me, quoting some of the most eloquent prose on the Internet and inducing the first facepalm of the day. Users are review bombing yet another game on Metacritic. The practice, for those unfamiliar, is when numerous people dissatisfied with some aspect of a game leave absurdly low user reviews. Actually, let me just show you…

A majority of those “negative” reviews are flat-out 0.0 scores. The complaints include the game being a “bad version of WoW,” frustration over the connection errors and unadulterated rage at the “always-on DRM,” which requires players to have a stable internet connecting even when playing alone. You can read the vitriol here.

Whenever I see something like this, I wonder what the point is. If it’s to draw attention to the complaints, well, I suppose you’ve succeeded. Of course, Twitter trending topics and the number of outlets already covering the issue (not to mention the Blizzard forums currently engulfed in flames) are giving voice to the concerns. But, why review bomb? The practice is tired. No one gives it merit, because everyone knows the perspective is skewed. By the very nature of the practice, the user scores don’t take into consideration the thousands upon thousands of gamers that are sitting back and waiting for the team to work out the problems.

Did you really expect that the servers wouldn’t be overloaded on Day 1? Diablo III is one of the most anticipated games of the decade. Of course things were taxed to the breaking point. Heck, even Blizzard has gone through this before. Remember how bad World of Warcraft’s connection and queueing problems were during the first month?

The inevitable response from gamers is that Blizzard should have been prepared. Trust me. They were.

I have no doubt that their teams were all on high alert, scrambling to keep things moving. The emergency downtime yesterday was part of that process. “Ah, but what about server capacity?” I hear you saying. It’s a balancing act. I once asked the same question to a developer and received a completely logical response. He told me that server loads subside quickly after launch. Were developers and publishers to purchase, install and maintain servers based on initial loads, there would be absurd waste. Instead, they plan for average peak and do their best to get through the launch window with as few scrapes and bruises as possible.

Does it mean that some gamers won’t be able to play right away? Yes. Does it mean lower costs during development? Absolutely. You might not like it, but it’s a cold reality of the industry. Developers simply cannot predicate ongoing server capacity based on the day 1 crush.

As for the always-on DRM issue, it’s another stark reality of the direction the industry is headed. Especially with the auction house (another popular point of contention that often involves the words “pay to win”), Blizzard needed to make sure that duping (if possible) could be caught and the perpetrators banned. Even if there were no mechanism to purchase items with in-game money, you can bet the requirement for an internet connection would remain. I don’t mean to diminish the complaints, though. The cries against always-on DRM are rooted in legitimate frustration, and the inclusion of it has often lead to rampant piracy (EA’s Sporea prime example).

The truth is that while some of these complaints are valid, the mechanism and manner of voicing them diminishes the message. Review bombing is the equivalent of throwing a temper tantrum because your mother didn’t buy you a toy. It’s childish and petulant.

If you really want to affect change, make reasonable arguments, substantiate them with fact and be open to civil and courteous debate. I assure you that developers hear the rage but respond to those that are mature in their approach. Most importantly, play the game before you complain about it. If you have no intention of purchasing Diablo III, for whatever reason, then move along. There is no reason to throw a fit. There are tons of other great action RPGs out there to occupy your time, especially this year.

At the end of the day, Blizzard is going to address the connection issues. You will be able to play Diablo III. The real money auction house is not the end of the world (though, given the theme of the game, maybe that’s the point). Next week, when everything is moving smoothly and you are blissfully clicking and loot whoring away, your emotions may have mellowed, but that 0.0 review score won’t. Most won’t take the time to go back and delete or modify their score on Metacritic, instead leaving the hole metaphorically punched in the wall.

So, instead of throwing a tantrum, perhaps consider an alternative mechanism for voicing your disdain. Or, better yet, go play something else until the problems are fixed. Sanctuary will still need saving when you come back.

Michael Futter is the Managing Editor of @RipTen. You can follow him on Twitter @mmmfutter.

This is why I take user reviews, especially in outlets like Metacritic and Amazon, with a truckload of salt. Some are well written and genuinely informative, but you often come across the bitter review-bombing nonsense that was covered in this article.

CaptainAwesomer

Amazon has the BEST reviews, if you ignore all of the 10s and the 1s.

Somewhat Disappointed

I’m actually pretty disappointed with it. When you’re expecting a 10 and you get a 6 or a 7, it’s hard not to complain. I don’t see how D3 is much better than Titan Quest or D2. The graphics are better, but the game play, the story, the experience is slightly inferior.

It lacks something I’m not completely sure why.
-I think the sprites are a bit small maybe.
-Removing the traditional addition of skill points is annoying. Leads to the feeling that my character is not unique (yes, I know, my character would still not be unique, but I like the illusion).
-A bit too easy.
-Voice acting is not bad, but it’s not as good as expected for Diablo/Blizzard.
-The

The game is worth the money, but come on, weren’t we all expecting a lot more?

Kurt

“I think the sprites are a bit small maybe.”
The game uses 3D models not sprites.

“Removing the traditional addition of skill points is annoying. Leads to the feeling that my character is not unique (yes, I know, my character would still not be unique, but I like the illusion).”

Each class in Diablo II only had a very few viable builds that could take you into higher difficulties. Because of this, people usually didn’t come up with their own build ideas, they used cookie cutter builds that were completely unoriginal. The new system actually allows you to experiment and do your own thing without crippling your character.

“A bit too easy. ”

Have you actually played hardcore mode or any of the higher difficulties? It’s not exactly fair to say a game is easy when you haven’t played through all of it.

“Voice acting is not bad, but it’s not as good as expected for Diablo/Blizzard.”

The voice acting is the same quality as Starcraft in my opinion. In terms of video game voice acting I’d say it is very solid. What exactly were you expecting?

FanOfD1andD2

In all honesty, I’m more interested in making sure other consumers know about the issues than I am in Blizzard knowing about them. Blizzard already knows, other people about to buy the game probably don’t. I didn’t, so I’ve now spent 60$ on something I can’t use until they get their act together.

toddacoco

Isn’t is amazing how the end user is the one who does not understand the issue and is made out to be the idiot. Logical sensible discussions are not going to solve the connection issues at Blizzard today. Blizzard hyped this thing up the wazoo and when people bought pre ordered or bought a product that they could not use use they should be upset. If you continue to make excuses for these launch day hoaxes they will keep right on happening. They better be glad they don’t work for me. Excuses breed incompetence and folks that’s what we have here on the launch day of Diablo 3. I for one just feel stupid for buying into all the Blizzard hype. The Advertising department deserves a raise the server group deserves to be shot.

Papa71

Trying to be as objective as possible here. I don’t even have the game as it does not look like much has changed since Diablo II, so I cannot say anything specifically about the game (other than the obvious DRM is just plain stupid.) It seems the devs need to make a choice between spending the cash for extra servers/bandwidth for the opening blitz or suffer the consequences/reviews of unhappy users (yes I know which they chose). Personally, since I don’t have it I don’t much care but they certainly have the cash to buy some extra servers for the first couple of months to handle the load. After waiting twelve years for this game you think they could simply go the extra mile. They don’t owe anyone anything but they know damn well this game will make them a billion dollars. Judging from the unhappy people out there there were lots of other corners cut and that is not cool (auction houses with real money in any game is a joke). Going by reviews that are low but not the silly 0.0′s out there. I watched the live IGN footage yesterday for a couple of hours and wasn’t really impressed. I should note I have been waiting for this game for sooooo long I just got uninterested. Especially with games like Dark Souls out there, etc. Just an opinion from a gamer that has been around a long, long time (I’m 40 and still find time for the good games!)

Bottom line: If you aren’t going to have an offline single player option, you better be ready to suffer the consequences for choosing DRM and skimping on game servers. No offline single player is unbelievably stupid, but not quite as much as 0.0 scores stupid. From what I have seen (watching IGN) excluding the server issues I would give it an 7.5-8.0 but I am not exactly qualified bc I have not actually been playing myself.

Al_G_Funguy

Diablo 3′s servers will surely have obscure bugs just like diablo 2 did. The excuse for online-only access that “it’s to prevent hacks” nonsense is absurd. There will be hacks, just wait.

With no offline mode, there will be no user mods for this game.

“Were developers and publishers to purchase, install and maintain servers based on initial loads, there would be absurd waste. ”

That excuse doesn’t hold water. Why didn’t they arrange to rent the hardware or capacity for launch? Then the “absurd waste” would not have shown up in their dismal ratings.

Disclaimer: I don’t have this game. I am just critically evaluating what I can so I can make a wise decision on where to spend my limited gaming time.

Sheldon Ross

I disagree with the your conclusion. “perhaps consider an alternative mechanism for voicing your disdain.” Saying “oh would you please stop including your overly onerous drm, if it pleases you” will not get Activision/Blizzards attention. A lot of savvy people will discount metacritic scores, but they are still a significant PR black eye for Blizzard. I have no problem with negative reviews lambasting them for a product that is defective and crippled by design.

darkblade56

I have to agree with ripten here. If it hadnt been for finals this week I would have been installing the game, then simply waiting til tomorrow or friday to log on and play for the first time. Ive played a ton of MMOs and know exactly what happens with the initial crush of players on day one launch. Since this game was also very highly anticipated; there were people who took a holiday for three days JUST to play it during launch week. These people all threw a fit when they couldnt play consistently during their free days off they took from work. Add to that the exponent of millions worldwide and you get the idea.

This is what comes wiht a fast food mentality and people who lack the gumption to understand delayed gratification. Now I dont mean to say that you should GET what you paid for the instant youre able to log on. Thats definitely not what i mean. I got my CE copy of the game launch night. NOT today or yesterday, midnight like everyone else that loves this game.

When asked what time id be on? I told them thursday or friday when things settle alittle. Not going to bother getting on launch night or even attempting to install until the storm has begun to subside.

people ARE entitled to receive the services that they pay for at the time the product is made available. Im not at all diminishing the right to have what you want when you shell the dough out to get it. Just consider what it is youre getting yourself into prior to taking a whole freaking week off to play. Hell I have all summer after my finals are done…. THREE WHOLE MONTHS of this game and Dragon’s dogma and WOW for me man. Then back to school >_>

CaptainAwesomer

You need user reviews to balance out the BS from game sites, unless you believe that every over hyped AAA title is worthy of something between a 9.0 and a 10.

Aborgen

I am a very unhappy long time Diablo, Diablo II, and Lord of Destruction gamer. I have not purchased any other Blizzard games since the Diablo II expansion set. I am outraged that you need an internet connection to play the game by yourself.
I dont care what they do, I am not purchasing another Daiblo game and I am not a WOW player or fan, never have, never will. My money dies with Diablo III.
Blizzard could have ruled the world, now they watch it burn…

Genda

Yeah you sure showed them…

http://www.facebook.com/people/Nick-Perry/1310105117 Nick Perry

He voted with his wallet. And that’s the best way you can vote.

Hsm45

“No one gives it merit, because everyone knows the perspective is skewed.” If this is true, what’s the purpose of this article?

Tick

I never left a review for D3, but who cares what people do with a metascore. It isn’t anyone’s place to trash anyone for any review they leave. If they believe it’s a low score then it is, if they believe it’s a high score then it is…

I have one grievance with D3. The terrible character models in the game. They look right out fo the early 2000′s. The textures are weak, the poly count is low… I can, and do knock the game for that.

QuixoticRocket

The one thing that grates my bean is people who rate something a 10 and say “I really think it deserves an 8 but gave it a 10 because the average is a bit low” (or gave it a lower score because the avg was too high). That’s not how meta-scores work. All they’re doing is further undermining the value of the score just like the people who rate it 0 without playing it because they don’t like the name (or whatever).

I’ve done this. I haven’t blasted any forums, I don’t have a metacritic account, and I haven’t purchased a copy of Diablo 3, despite being a fan of the series from a decade before. I prefer to let my grievances be known via the free market, and will voice my opinion much like I’m doing now.

Sadly this is I game I will never own. I refuse to purchase a game with such intrusive DRM, whether it’s done for anti-piracy reasons or to protect their assets invested in the new RMAH. I know that Blizzard is more interested in creating a ‘ghost’ subscription off of those who would like to play Diablo instead of WoW via the RMAH. Because of the RMAH the DRM will never be dropped by Blizzard for this game in the future.

The hackers always win in the end, and this game WILL get hacked as often, if not more, than WoW depending on just how profitable the new RMAH will be.

On to the point you mentioned regarding preparing servers to meet expected demand AFTER the initial spike rather than DURING. It is understandable, but it is still bad service to knowingly refuse players access to your game after they’ve payed all fees, and if the company doesn’t want backlash for bad service, then they should be willing to dish out a little extra, even if just temporarily. And for $60 I don’t feel entitled for expecting the game to work when they say it will, especially if the connection isn’t actually necessary.

I hope the backlash will be severe enough to let other companies know that DRM will not be tolerated by the consumers. I’m certain other companies are eager to see how far they can go with DRM, and this will be quite the experiment I imagine.

If it gets much worse, I might just turn to piracy. Ironic huh? :P

robert

The online only play kills it for me. I was SO looking forward to playing Diablo again. It’s not an issue of principal or hating DRM or anything. It’s a practical reality. I have a fast connection, but it gets hung up occasionally (every ten minutes or so). This will totally ruin the gaming experience for me. The connection problem is beyond my control. So, I won’t be buying Diablo III unless it can be played offline. I think they are going to lose a lot of business because of this just because of connection issues, not philosophical objections. Very dumb move on their part.

Hahalosilent

The user review has it used, is a good indication for players like me that something is wrong somewhere. And to reconsider our decision to purchase.

If the metacritic user score was 8 and above, based on 1.8k review, I would buy it right now. Unfortunately that’s not the case.

Now, I’m thinking I would probably borrow from a friend a few months later, I don’t think is worth the purchase now and have to Endure the game. After all, Sanctuary still need saving even a few months later.

needtocontrol

Bit unfair to single out Diablo for forcing an online connection. What about other games that are ONLY single player and force you to connect to Steam e.g. Skyrim? No metacritic rebellions there.

Still fair to complain about the connection issues. Though it’s only a small company with little experience of online play and there’s no way they could have predicted the demand. Oh wait…

QuixoticRocket

Skyrim & Steam is different: it’s not an “always on” connection. You need to connect to Steam at the start to validate that you can play and then your can yank the LAN cable out your machine and continue playing.
With D3 you must remain connected to their server the _entire_ time you are playing, even if you’re playing single player. If you disconnect your game is dropped.

Blizz really should have learned by now. Every major WoW patch causes queues and wiggy servers. Did they really not realise how many people would be trying to log on on the first day? The whole point of digital sales preinstalling was so that people could log on as soon as possible. (And why the hell doesn’t d3 have a login queue like wow servers when they’re full?)

The game may be amazing (depending on your opinion) but Blizzard should hang their head in shame at the launch issues. And all the excuses about “you should expect the servers to get hammered” are silly. Blizzard should expect the servers to get hammered and put in temporary hardware (Amazon will rent some cloud) to handle it until things die down. I expect them to have sorted themselves out by the time release day comes along.

I don’t expect perfection on day 1 but if they insist on always on connection then they need to work at their end of the bargain too and have the game in some form of playable state (and I only tried logging in at about 7pm GMT and couldn’t get in. I’m not talking the 12:01 rush here).

needtocontrol

Really? That’s pretty bizarre. In any case, I’m waiting a bit while I finish other stuff (and can actually buy it from amazon at a decent price!). Been waiting for long enough since 2 so not a big deal.

QuixoticRocket

Yeah. To be honest it’ll probably all be fine in a couple of days once all the hiccups are ironed out (unless you have a spotty connection) but it certainly makes for bad times if the servers go down.

I think they had the balance right with sc2. The only reason I can see for “always on” connection is to protect the real money auction house from hacking and cheating goldfarming.

IMO they should have dropped the real money auction house and been more lax on the connection requirements.

http://salvego.com Danilo Salvego

If you really want to affect change, simply don’t buy the game. Its easier then whining out loud with Metacritic. I personally loved the game and I didn’t find any problems unitl now. It happened the same with MW3, BF3 and Skyrim.

Nerdyname111

This concept would require a ‘but I WANT IT NOW’ mentality to take a backseat to common sense. I mean, isn’t this like buying a rotten apple, shoveling it into my mouth and crying for three straight days? Meanwhile the grocer is staring at me thinking, “but….you bought it, ate it, and I got paid. And…I bet you will do it again too…”

Catmouse

lol. No it really does suck. I’m going to go back and play baulder’s gate 1 which is 100x better then this piece of vomit.

QuixoticRocket

I am not at all surprised. The launch was terribly handled and a lot of users want to vent their anger in some way that will leave some sort of impression so that in 3 months when Blizz is launching another title / expac they look at the D3 user rating and go “hmmm… maybe we should rent a few more servers for the first week”.

Blizzard get no sympathy from me. I like their games but they should have known better. They have plenty of experience with a fairly popular MMO ffs. They even had that open beta weekend for load testing and had all these login issues then. I assume the people running the stress tests got drunk after that weekend and forgot what they did with the clipboard of handscrawled results? Including the massive words “MOAR SERVERS NAOW!!!”.

Hopefully they have learnt something about always-on connections and hardware preperation.

Travis

I disagree with your perspective that the end user reviews are bogus and should be ignored because the silent masses are happy. I only read the user reviews since they are not paid for by marketing subsidies. Of course there are fan-boys and there are flamers in a public review, but cutting through all that I can find out the things that matter to me. The DRM and been forced online for example is a no go for me right out. Your comments would be ignored by me as fan-boy for example.

AlxPayne

I like the game. I’m actually dumbfounded at how many people HATE it. I mean, I saw some haters coming around but DAMN! Boo Hoo, you can’t play offline. Why would you want to? It’s called an MMO for a reason and you knew what you were getting yourself into. I guess I don’t see the big deal in not being able to play offline. I’m sorry to anyone who has terrible internet connection or none at all but, I don’t feel like that’s enough reason to send D3 to the chopping block. And sure, argue that it is less unique with the character building but if you’re like me, you see this as sacrifice free. I’m happy knowing the build is being automatically done for me. It provides me with the piece of mind that I’m not going to completely ruin my character by pumping points into a trait that I’ll eventually find out isn’t going to do me a bit of good. That’s time I would never get back. If you’re someone new to Diablo like my friend, this is wicked user friendly. Allows newbies to dive right in and enjoy the world of Diablo for what it is, great. And how is anyone complaining about the graphics? Compare D2 to D3 and it’s great improvement. I think people were looking for it to be something more though…you saw screenshots before the game came out. When did you all of a sudden think it was going to become Crytek? Voice acting is fine. Again, fine. I think the problem with ALOT of people is that they set this idea in their heads about how the game should be and when it didn’t pan out as good as they fantasized about, disappointment settled in. Don’t put such high standards up and there wont be any disappointment. Like I said, I like the game and I’ll continue playing it and have fun because that’s what is, a fun game.

doctorhumpy

People should learn that there has never been a game with stable servers on day 1 release. Not that it’s their fault, but this can’t possibly be the first time this many have purchased a game on day 1.

Very stupid move on blizzard’s part, but let’s be honest.. diablo was good at the time and the standards are so much higher now. D3 is just dull now. That’s like getting hyped up for the 3 stooges movie.. it was great then, but now… you’re just going to be disappointed.

C326050

This is the media working to protect big business interest. Independent media you say? I doubt it.

Hardcore Gamer with a life.

Let’s say Bliz just paid for all of the servers to handle launch capactiy, then slowly took them off as they weren’t needed. It would end in the same way, massive server outage if they have one too few.

I’ve played Diablo 2 since I was a little kid, just like many others. Does it suck that I can’t play it at school or on the road? Sure, but it’s not ruining the game for me. Everyone’s going to always find something to complain about regarding any game. If the server outage bothers you so much, here’s a great idea, don’t fucking play it.
If you can’t wait 1 day to play a god damn game you need to reassess where you are in life and chill the fuck out. I had work, school, and I had to teach an IT class all on launch day, I got about 30 mins. of play time, but it was satisfying and fun.
Games are supposed to be fun, not a dedication of your life. Get off your couch and get on the treadmill, whiny elitists.

Captainobvious

You sound like someone who doesn’t get what they pay for… and they’re used to it by now.

Jon

I’m frankly glad I’ve read the meta critic reviews before wasting my money on this game and for the “review bombers”, I thank you. As an avid gamer that lives in a rural area with no access to high speed internet, I would have been totally screwed had I bought this game. I’ve NEVER had an interest in online gaming.. I like playing at my own pace, and the little multiplayer I play will be with another player in the same room. I sincerely hope the Blizzard creates a patch for the folks like myself that never intend to go online. Until then, review and complain away my friends. There are plenty of other great developers that wouldn’t use this antiquated 2002 era practice that really deserve the money. (Check out Amalur. It’s a great game made by a fledgling company that really needs the money right now.) Now, I think I may just go to metacritic to give it a negative review myself. If I convince one player to boycott the game until this flaw has been addressed, then I’ve succeeded in my goal.

Jeff

So you are going to review a game that you don’t even own? Makes sense…

Jonoaf

Jeff, it’s called protesting. A valuable tool to make your voice heard when you have no other means to speak up. If everyone were to speak up instead being an apologist for Draconian measures that only punish the honest players, then Blizzard/Activision will get the hint. It worked fantastically with the usic industry and there is no longer any more DRM music. In addition, despite what Blizzard might have posted in the past, most of us don’t have time to camp out on the forums and wait for every little detail to be released. We see a game has come out, it looks fun, we buy it and expect it to work. With WoW everyone knew what to expect. It was marketed and sold as an MMO so there were no complaints. Diablo 3 was fraudulently advertised as being a single player game with multiplayer capability…like all Diablo games. If there weren’t a reason to protest, this would never be a story. Instead, Blizzard has made itself into the Poster child of why PC Gaming is dying when it should be a herald of what makes it great. It’s more than just being about Diablo. It’s about fair use and the DMCA.

Nerdyname111

The one fact consumers simply cannot own up to: the most effective and easiest way to change things is to NOT BUY the product or return it instantly. ONE generation of such an action would reverse everything. IT will never happen because our culture has little grasp of such horrors as a ‘free market’.

Nerds, losers, the lot o’ ya.

Kerith8

I wish I could return Diablo 3 for my purchase price, but thank you very much internet gaming, special code…. Can’t return it…. If you know of a PC game store that will take a PC game back after it has been opened let me know which one it is, and its time to start stealing CD Keys.

Delt

I think you are wrong, there is plenty of good user reviews in there. Too bad you just want to ignore them all and say they are all biased rage driven ones. Diablo 3 was a disappointment for me and I reviewed it as such.

Darian

Tera launched recently with none of the server issues at launch. Sometimes it took a while to get onto full servers but they quickly made another server and allowed transfers before the actual launch date.

People expected to play the game on the launch date and if review bombing gets the developers attention, they should get on it! Blizzard could have easily put on a headstart for pre-orders to weed out the problems and not one person would have complained about the game going down during that time.

I also find the user reviews very helpful, they identified the fatal error in the ps3 version of Skyrim that made people hold off on their purchases till it was fixed. If I would have never known about that I would have had 40 hours into a game that would soon become unplayable.

If these reviews encourage people to hold off on buying Diablo III maybe it would be better for all of us.

Alfred Sonnenberg

review bomb is a form of voicing your opinion as well. there are many points I do not agree with you in your article, does that mean I can dismiss your whole article as unsuitable? That would be very unprofessional. Bad reviews, ranting, bombing, all are different forms of review as well. There must be something that made them worked up. Everyone is writing about that, one should expect to experience the launch hiccups (Major one in this case). That just doesn’t make sense, blizz sold that many units of game but cannot accommodate all the games they sold? where’s the logic in that? It must be awesome to be game developers nowadays, you get to sell half-finished products, provide bare minimal services sporadically, minimal customer serv,, and have masses of people defending your position in a form of fanboyism and blind acquiescence.

Captainobvious

Exactly.

If the game was solid and made good on it’s promises no one would be Review bombing.

You reap what you sow Blizzard.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=576132008 Matthew Collins

When I decide to play an old game, I don’t go to IGN for its review; I ask my friends about it ;) Review scores may be in print for a while, but player opinion is far longer lasting and far wider reaching ;)

Once an established consensus is reached by the average mass of gamers, review scores are largely superfluous ;D And when developers talk about their old games 10 years down the line, they talk about what GAMERS thought… and almost invariably not what the reviews said.

http://twitter.com/TheLe The Le

Diablo 1 and 2 was a great Action-RPG game. Sadly, Diablo 3 is just an action game.
Everything is done for you. Strength/Dexterity? They increase those
automatically with each level. Character skills? They give them to you
when you level. The difference between my level 40 Barbarian and your
level 30 Barbarian? NOTHING. Well, you may have better armor, but that’s
all — our skills and attributes are identical.

Hey, look, I found a cool armor I can’t wear yet. Why? Because it’s just
a level limit. That’s all. If I want my Wizard to wear a super heavy
plate armor, I no longer need to increase strength to wear it — I
either need to be high enough level or Blizzard simply makes in
“unusable” by my class.

It’s as if they took all the stuff from World of Warcraft and threw a
Diablo Interface on it. Seriously — I have to spend gold to increase my
Stash-size? Really? I need to dis-enchant magic weapons and use the raw materials to create new enchanted items? Really? Why not just create an Enchanter class rather than claiming Diablo 3 is original. Heck, did the Diablo 3 programmers ever actually PLAY
Diablo before?

The answer is yes, because so far Act 1 is an exact clone of the other games. Seriously, why am I still fighting bats, goat men, skeletons, and zombies? And you brought back King Leoric (with a terrible voice over) too? Really? I have to spend 2 hours fighting in the Tristan woods, Cemetery, Cathedral, and Den of Evil… just in the first two games. Is there no creativity left at Blizzard? You guys really can’t figure out how to create new world and interesting monsters?

Take a look at the Diablo 3 gameplay closely. Deep down inside, it’s shallow.

Captainobvious

Ouch… is this even Diablo anymore?

James Milford

I was upset with blizzard pulling this crap on people but I just bought a handful of their stocks. The game never looked so sweet to me. No I do not own the game and probably never will but seeing all those people clicking away and asking for more…I can’t be happier.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Nick-Perry/1310105117 Nick Perry

Any bad rep Diablo III gets is sorely deserved by the way Blizzard Handled things. Activision and Bobby Kotick’s influence are painfully obviously.
Besides. Who WOULDN’T be mad about being kicked off a SP game mode because of Blizzard decided to use some completely inane and utterly ludicrous DRM model?
They have HUGE experience with MMO’s so there is no reason why the shit should happen in the first place.
Especially when they had extensive user beta testing that was essentially FREE QA.

If they had put a disconnected Offline Single Player mode in there in the first fucking place. 99.99% of the North American Population playing this game would have 0 issues right now. You wouldn’t have to rely on some distant service to be able to even play at all by yourself in a solitary manner.

It’s retarded!

The way I see it, in the online mode they are offering RMT Auction houses to buy stuff for your character right?
It’s more like “We dont’ want people to play offline, because then they wouldn’t be able to purchase RMT items and give us more of that peverbial fat hard earned cash!” Think about it. They are in this to make money. And if you force your users to play online and give them no offline mode, knowing that they will bitch about it but still play online anyway and end up someday potentially using the RMT auction house. Thus giving them the opportunity to earn more money from you after your initial 50/60$ Purchase through the use of fees.

“To the shock of most observers[1], in July 2011 Blizzard announced that the Diablo III Auction House will have a real money aspect to it. The real money is only usable for item (and eventually character) sales for softcore (non-hardcore) characters, and it operates in tandem with the in-game gold trading auction house. Players may list items on either service. [b]Blizzard charges a flat [u][i]FEE[/i][/u][/b] for each item listed (to discourage players from flooding the market with junk items), [b]then takes another [u][i]FEE[/i][/u][/b] from successful sales. Proceeds can be spent on Blizzard merchandise and games, or withdrawn in actual currency, [b]after another [u][i]FEE [/i][/u]is paid to Blizzard and the financial partner.[/b]”

Think about it.

Even if the fees are small, You add that up over a few million listings and that’s SERIOUS MONEY.

It’s pretty fuckin genius and almost downright insidious if you ask me.

With a clear cut, cut-off offline mode with no access to any multiplayer at all(Which apparently DIABLO II HAD). You wouldn’t have to worry about players doing outside “illegal” RMT to buy items, or duplicating and selling on the AH. Because they would NOT be able to access online with that character at ALL, nor transfer them to a character that CAN get online.

WrongPassword

What a surprise, another article defending Blizzard’s screw up and DRM by belittling frustrated players. I suppose you will continue defending always online DRM so long as they slap an auction house on it. Enjoy your server crashes, connection drops, progress losses, gold farmers and lag monsters.

Kevin

You shouldn’t have to be online to play a single-player game. Now to play the multi-player aspect of course. Not buying unless they remove that stupid DRM

Anon

Eat a dick you pathetic Blizzard apologist.

I bought this game ($80) understanding that you needed an internet connection to play - but never knew that EVERY action in the game was run server side.
Which makes Aussie gamers COMPLETELY unable to enjoy the vast majority of this game (like attacking when you click the button instead of 2 seconds later, and healing when you need to – not 2 seconds after you are already dead).

Its a pathetic attempt by blizzard to make even bigger profits off their loyal gamerbase – and like every other slobberingly fat american corporation they have no respect for other peoples money.

I got my refund the easy way – called my bank and contested the payment for services not as promised.

I encourage other gamers to do the same. Whining on forums will get you no where.

Captainobvious

“I got my refund the easy way – called my bank and contested the payment for services not as promised”

This needs to be said across the world for everyone wanting money back for Diablo III. Can you imagine the chaos at Blizzard?!

David Foster

The reason online required DRM is a “stark reality” is because idiot journalists like you blindly defend mega publishers’ awful decisions for reasons I’ll never understand. Any sane, logical person would agree that not being able to use an item that you purchased, the day you purchased it is EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING, and under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should that complaint ever be dismissed because “lolz wat u spect lots o people play it!!!” I’m sure if you bought your ticket for The Avengers on Fandango for your local movie theatre, and showed up only to find that the theatre was filled to capacity, you’d PROBABLY be a little angry about the situation. Not to mention D3 was the highest pre-ordered game on Amazon, so you can’t even argue that Blizzard wasn’t expecting the traffic. You’re just another fanboy.

Mafuletrekkie

If I can’t play a game that I PAYED 60$ FOR because they want to make more money off a real money auction house then it deserves a 0. I am not, nor never will be, Blizzards reserve bank account.

Aqem

since when metahate is a trusty source info, mw3, mass effect had the same crybaby comments.
a bad game wont be scored by more than 200 users a good one will have +3000 comments of fanboys and haters.

Captainobvious

I wonder how much Blizzard paid you to write this defending article…

http://profile.yahoo.com/LCAG4GGNGJSIZX5RQZM4NG74EI Jezrel

Well the always internet thing fucks my game, i cant play more than a few minutes. So i agree whit the low scores.